Chart Detail

Comparison of poverty measures

Equal to the 33rd percentile of expenditures on food, clothing, shelter, and utilities of consumer units with exactly two children, multiplied by 1.2

Adjusted annually by change in the Consumer Price Index

Adjusted annually by the five-year moving average of expenditures on food, clothing, shelter, and utilities

No geographic adjustment

Geographic adjustments for differences in housing costs

Resources included as income

Total family pretax cash income

Total family after-tax income (including credits such as the Earned Income Tax Credit)

Includes value of near-cash benefits, such as SNAP, National School Lunch Program, WIC, housing subsidies, and LIHEAP

Subtracts work-related expenses, such as child care and transportation costs

Subtracts medical out-of-pocket expenses and child support paid

Note: SNAP is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; WIC is the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children; and LIHEAP is the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.